Hello everyone new kid on the block here I have been doing some reading on this forum for a few weeks now and thought it was time to pop up and say hi

Im mike from the uk grease monkey by trade and trying my hand at creating miniture trees not my 1st go but the last time I was about 8 it died lost intrest moved on

This time around alittle older and giving it another go curently have a Japanese acer iv been growing out in a over sized pot for the past 2years (I know the ground works best but with small children pots work best for my situation) theres a english yew thats been potted 6months and hoping it makes it and a malsai crab apple iv had from a reputable bonsai place not to far away

Hoping to learn abit on the way not expecting amazing results as I suppose most of the trees in the yard are seedlings but growing well so far

Shall try and add some pictures this weekend

Mike, welcome. You are doing it right I would say. Depending on where you are there is an auction and show tomorrow at Harlington sports centre near Heathrow. Next show then is Swindon in February. Have a look at the books written by Harry Harrington on bonsai4me.com good books and well worth having. Then next step is to find a club, you will learn more and find cheap material too.
Geoff.

Welcome to the empire!

In the beginning, take it somewhat slow. I know everything can seem like great material to start with. But, as indicated by Geoff, try to hook up with some material during shows and or clubs. Especially at clubs you can get decent starter material for good prices. What goes out in one garden, can become an others garden prized possession.

Try to stay away from plants labelled bonsai in supermakets etc.

Hi geoff thanks for that ill have a gander at something closer to home im based nottingham my dad lent me a book im sure the author was harry Tomlinson it was very informative

Hi leatherback thank you yes not in any rush to ruin any of my progress with the acer been sat there nicely for a few years.
As for the crab apple it was labeled as bonsai well of sorts its got potential may want to go in a bigger pot but wanted to leave it a year see what it does

Ill try and get out when it stops raining take a few pics

Ok, so sounds like you went to Greenwood Bonsai. Yes I have the book that Harry Tomlinson wrote, it is very useful. There is a good club in that area

Yes geoff greenwoods quite lucky it is an amazing place to wander round and see what things can become given time and the right skills only round the corner.

Also tried to attach these pictures to not the best angle of the crab apple also included the 1st picture of the acer when I found it on a carboot iv read on that if i let the branch at the base grow out it will thicken the trunk up like i say im new to it all so if iv got it wrapped around my head feel free to let me know cheers

Geoff dont suppose you would know the name of the club at all would you?

Ashfield Bonsai Club - Mansfield I am pretty sure this is the one, there is also another at Littleover. I don't know the area so I am not sure how close that will be for you. I like the crab apple, nice trunk coming. They grow very quickly. Maybe could do with a bigger pot to allow it to grow. Same applies to the Acer, if you can I would plant it in the ground. It will grow much quicker if you do.also it should be out of the white pot as I would guess that it does not have holes in it.

sweet i shall have a look geoff there is another club I go to up that way so thats good. Thanks for the advise my wife looks after childern so unfortunately i have to use pots to move them about wile they play foot ball and that.

The picture of the tree in the white pot is the same tree as in the black pot i repotted last year uninformed it went in some johninnes compost so thinking of sorting that this year orthough it seams quite happy in there but then I put plenty of drain holes in the pot.

Cheers

Ok, well, I hope you find the other club. I am a member of 5 clubs believe it or not, I do loads of workshops each month. Right now I am waiting to get started re potting, it is too cold at the moment. If you can find some, alpine mix is good, several of our members use it. Free draining, so is good for trees. I use a mix with Akadama in it, but there are other soils available.